Collision
by Aria DC al Fine
Summary: Visitors from another world gave Subaru a chance at happiness. SLASH Seishirou/Subaru. Subaru/Kamui.
1. Chapter 1

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle and X/1999 crossover

Title: Collision

Synopsis: Visitors from another world gave Subaru a chance at happiness. SLASH Seishirou/Subaru. Subaru/Kamui.

Rating: M, for limey scenes.

Disclaimer: Sadly, Seishirou, Subaru, Kamui, Fuuma, Syaorans, Watanuki, Doumeki, Ran, Gingetsu and Eriol belong to CLAMP. I'll add to the list of 'boys I love from CLAMP' when they release new series.

Prologue

Kamui was going to murder the Witch.

"We're still in the same dimension!" the violet-eyed vampire fumed when his gaze landed on the all-too-familiar Tokyo Tower, the Government/Diet building and the carnage around the top of an anonymous building their blob – stupid method of traveling – ruptured on. "Same Acid Tokyo!"

Subaru looked around, processing his sight with incredible calm. "We're in Tokyo, all right," he spoke as blasphemies of multitude languages slipped out of his twin's lips. "I don't think it's the same Tokyo, though. Feel it." He closed his eyes, black lashes fluttering against his cheek.

Kamui followed begrudgingly. "You're right," he retorted after a few seconds, "There's magic in this world." His exquisite facial features contorted in anxiety. His mouth parted, as though he was going to say something, before a sphere of energy hit him from the back, shoving him painfully to a slab of concrete yards away from the other vampire.

Subaru cried as scraps of steel imprisoned his twin's slender body as a boa would. "KAMUI!" he flied to his brother's position and wrestled with the steels – they were alive, and they refused to loosen their hold – before he heard a chuckle behind him, a low-pitched rumble filled with promises of agony. "If you don't erect a kekkai now, it will be too late, Subaru-kun."

The pureblooded vampire turned, his emeralds irises transforming to molten gold as he narrowed his eyes. "Please release Kamui," he threatened their attacker, nails protracting to sharp claws, shredding his gloves to pieces. Seishirou was damned right when he said that when angered, Subaru was frightening. (TRC17, chapter 128)

Two pair of eyes widened in surprise the moment they met. It was the hunter again, Subaru pondered, flecks of green entering his eyes, Seishirou-san's younger brother. His heart ached at the thought of the man.

Fuuma shook his head. "Oops," his lips curled to a malicious smile, "It seems I stumble upon a case of mistaken identity. Sorry about that." There was no apology in his voice.

"So please let Kamui go," Subaru repeated, aureate chasing away the gems in his eyes again as he bared his fangs.

"That, I can't obey," the tall teenager tilted his head, "It's too amusing, methinks."

There was a limit to Subaru's patience. Before Fuuma finished speaking, Subaru had already propelled himself to the man's front, a flurry of black robes, and scratched him on the chest, four slits crisscrossing and dripping with blood.

The teenager retreated, grimacing. "Fierce, fierce," he clucked his tongue, "Not aware that you fancy bloodbath. Kinky, Subaru-san."

The vampire replied by narrowing his eyes even more, bringing his fingers to his lips and licking the blood clean. The crimson liquid, this man's life essence, felt good to his throat. He hadn't fed since Kamui gave him Syaoran the E's blood. "Release Kamui," he ordered a third time, no trace of politeness left.

"No," Fuuma replied merrily, energy crackling on his palms. "It seems that you'll have to pry him off me by force."

Subaru tore his skin, a horizontal incision inside his wrist, and weaved a spell, blood magic. He wasn't as swift as Kamui when it came to combat, but he was superior in terms of magic. Whispering streams of chants under his breath, he laid mines and traps here and there.

Sorata and Arashi reached the chaos.

"Who's that?" the Kansai boy pointed at a figure who was currently engaged in a ferocious battle against Kamui the Dragon of Earth.

The miko squinted. "It looks like…" there was a frown on her beautiful face, "Subaru-san?" her tone was uncertain.

"I thought so, too. Didn't know he likes to cosplay," Sorata nudged at the figure's gothic getup as the two Seals hopped closer to him, "But if it is Subaru-san, why didn't he erect a kekkai?"

"Speaking of a kekkai," Arashi looked like she was about to strangle Sorata to death, "We should erect ours!"

"Of course!" Sorata thwacked himself on his temple, "Silly me…"

Subaru winced as one of the human's spells cut a gash on his arm. The wound was no problem; it healed in a blink of an eye. That wasn't to say there was no pain.

Subaru just didn't understand why the hunter appeared like Seishirou-san at times.

They were brothers; of course they must have some similarities. But often, the vampire looked at Fuuma and saw Seishirou instead of the teenager, smiling gently, the golden chain around his neck fluttering by the wind. It pained Subaru. He itched to reach out to the amber-eyed man. Needless to say it also screwed his concentration and blasted his spells.

He didn't have that problem when he watched Fuuma in Acid Tokyo, so why now?

The vampire came a papery distance away from a magical slash that could cut off his leg and he cursed, probably the first time after numerous decades. Oh, he would regain the limb, reattach it or grow one, but the healing required too much time or effort at the moment.

"Miss him so much, don't you?" Fuuma jibed after he was close to severing the vampire's body part.

Subaru wasn't Kamui's brother for nothing. He was calm most of the time – with hotheaded twins (twin, Subaru reminded himself. Hokuto was dead, dead, dead) like that he had to be the coolheaded one. But Kamui's temper could latch on him easily. Brows twitching, he hurled a complicated hex at Fuuma.

Caught unaware, Kamui the Dragon of Earth was flung over what once was the pent suite of a condominium, falling from great heights.

Sorata's brows nearly disappeared in his short fringe when they found an unconscious Kamui entwined by sharp bits and pieces of metal. "Isn't Kamui supposed to be at school, now?" he asked his companion.

Arashi shot him the look. "Don't you think we should release him instead of asking inane questions?"

Sorata pressed his palm against his chest. "Nee-san, you're cruel!"

Ignoring his antiques, she raised her hand and let the sword emerged from her skin.

The miko fought against the metal, gritting her teeth (Sadly, Sorata couldn't do much without scorching Kamui to an electrocuted corpse as well), when an eye peeked open. "Su…ba…ru…" Kamui muttered as he writhed, struggling to get out as he regained his consciousness.

Sorata was rather intrigued by the molten gold in Kamui's eyes. "Why are you wearing contacts?" he was about to ask when the messy-haired male wrestled against his bindings in the earnest all of a sudden, hands reaching out. "SUBARU!" He screamed, unheeded by the edges digging to his skin and wounding him.

When his injuries healed in a matter of seconds, and his nails were extended, Sorata wanted to smack his head again. It was so obvious this Kamui wasn't humane, wasn't their Kamui.

The monk didn't get to ask questions. Kamui managed to flee, leaving a trail of blood cut short on the ground, as he literally catapulted himself in Subaru's direction.

The Seals followed.

Subaru was about to check on Kamui when a bustle of slips of papers surrounded him, five-pointed stars drawn against black.

The vampire was about to tear them with his nails when someone spoke, a rich chocolaty tone he missed. "You weren't very nice."

Green eyes widened, the gold dissipating in a flash, as they landed on a man in a black suit, dark-coloured elegant-cut cloak flapping around his leather shoes as he lit his cigarette. The man slipped the sunshade off his face as he grabbed the pureblood's attention. "Subaru-kun," he smiled amiably.

Subaru drowned in anguish. This wasn't an illusion Fuuma fabricated. He was face-to-face to a real, solid, breathing Seishirou. The vampire was aware that this Seishirou wasn't the hunter; he was too old, malice marring the smile he presented Subaru, but Subaru was tired of running, Subaru wanted to be caught, to be with Seishirou-san. "Seishirou-san-" he gasped, tears leaking out of his eyes, cool against the marble of his cheeks.

A hand reached out for his soaked cheeks, coated with blood, and Subaru nuzzled against his palm, his tongue swiping the crimson liquid off this doppelganger's skin. Subaru wanted to be lied to, even for a while.

"SUBARU!" Kamui flashed between them, charging at high speed, baring his claws at the Sakurazukamori. "I will kill you!" he raised his hand, poising to pierce the man's chest.

"Kamui!" Subaru's fingers curled around the flesh of his twin's forearms. "He isn't the hunter!"

Kamui twisted in his brother's embrace. "I don't care! I want him dead!"

"Now, now, that's unreasonable," back from the abyss, Fuuma positioned himself behind Subaru and whispered to the shell of his ear, lapping it with his tongue. Subaru gasped, while Kamui growled. "You-"

The two forgot to keep an eye on Sakurazuka Seishirou, a fatal mistake they regretted in the near future. The assassin penetrated Kamui's shoulder, leaving behind a gaping hole of broken bones and shredded muscles. The vampire shrieked in pain, drawing for his magic to regenerate cells but Kamui had been too exhausted, blood kept gushing out of his skin.

"KAMUI!" Subaru panicked when Kamui fainted in his arms. He wanted to bring his beloved brother away from the two sociopaths but the vampires were trapped.

"Was it necessary?" Fuuma frowned slightly, annoyed that Seishirou touched Kamui.

"Was that necessary?" Seishirou arched an eyebrow, disdain crossing his face for the moment of intimacy that transpired between Subaru and Fuuma just now. "This Kamui isn't your Kamui, anyways."

"The same can be said to you," Fuuma shrugged, before he chuckled. "We're so messed up."

Seishirou shot the other Angel a look which said, 'speak for yourself.'

Subaru was positively mortified now. He was sure they had been caught in some kind of crossfire. Again. The first time, it was his fault for falling to a slumber with that feather, though. He felt remorseful when Kamui decided to depart from Acid Tokyo; the violet-eyed male had been attached to the people there, though he refused to admit it. "Let us go!" Subaru's distress was apparent on his face.

"Now, now, Subaru-kun," Seishirou caressed the vampire's young, pale face with his fingers, "I thought we were having fun? I miss Subaru-kun's façade when he was 16 years old. So cute…"

Irate that only Seishirou got to harass someone, Fuuma sulked. "Your Subaru will be so heart-broken."

"I didn't say I don't like his 25-year-old self," Seishirou hummed as he kissed the vampire on his jaw, "He blossoms marvelously. Besides, it makes me feel less of a paedophile."

Subaru wriggled. This man's touches drained him, stealing his resistance away. He wanted to submit…

"Doesn't hide the fact that you are one," Sorata snarled from several feet away, electricity crackling on his palm. Arashi was beside the monk, her sword in her grasp. "Release them."

"They're not your Seals," Fuuma remarked, "They're none of your business."

Kamui moaned in misery, and Subaru tensed. "Kamui," the older brother wiped the sweat off his temple, pulling strands of damp curly hair away from his face, which was bereft of colours.

"Of course they're my business," Sorata scowled. He couldn't stand to see Kamui, Dragon of Heaven or not, hurt. "Stop toying with them!" he bristled, an inch away from assailing his enemies.

"Don't move," Fuuma threatened, his hand laid on Subaru's back, ready to puncture a hole through him, too. Or blow his flesh, whichever more convenient.

Sorata growled, frustrated. Arashi was more sensible. "The other Seals are on their way," she rationalised, "The kekkai we created alerted them of a fight. They'll be here soon." She didn't have to add, 'Subaru-san and Kamui-kun, too,' and spell out that Fuuma and Seishirou would be outnumbered.

Kamui the Angel sighed. "Take off the kekkai, then." An all-out-battle didn't have to occur before the Judgment Day. Besides, Yuuko would have his head if something happened to the Dimensional travelers. People who weren't involved shouldn't be caught by the threads of Fate.

Arashi shifted her gaze towards Sorata, who nodded. "You first," he didn't want to be fooled.

Seishirou shot Subaru a mournful smile. "We'll see each other again, won't we?"

"Not if they can help it!" Sorata responded for the vampire, "Hands off!" He couldn't help but feel protective for vulnerable teenagers, Kamui the Seal, and this Subaru, which appeared like one, included.

Seishirou gave Subaru a chaste kiss on his cheek before stepping away reluctantly. Fuuma withdrew simultaneously.

Pain swirling in wide emerald eyes, Subaru moved towards Sorata, clutching Kamui tightly.

Keeping the end of their bargain, Arashi and Sorata dispelled their kekkais at once.

After the two Dragons of Earths disappeared from their view, Subaru collapsed, his knees wobbling. Sorata was by their side in a millisecond. "Bring him to a hospital-" he began.

"No," the vampire interrupted weakly, "J-just bring us to a place we can rest, a place away from prying eyes. Please."

Sorata was reminded that Kamui wasn't human, and nodded. "I'll bring you to Imonoyama Mansion," he offered his hand.

"Thank you," Subaru made an effort to smile. He recognised their saviours, the boy and the girl, as people he'd seen from The Tower group. Praying fervently that Kamui wouldn't freak out once he woke, Subaru followed them as they traversed the city.

The quartet met Yuzuriha a few miles away from the Mansion, flying to opposite directions. She was on her way to where the kekkai was erected, it seemed. Yuzuriha gasped at the sight that welcomed her. "S-sorata-?" she called the older male questioningly.

"Please," The green-eyed boy holding a bruised, wheezing Kamui pleaded, "Hurry."

Arashi and Sorata led the way, the latter passing Yuzuriha an apologetic glance.

They proceeded till the building was within their sight. Subaru and Kamui the Dragons of Heaven were standing at the porch by the ajar door, shoving their feet to their shoes – Subaru seemed like he was having trouble with the boots – when the whirlwind that were their counterparts rushed into the Mansion, covered by grime and blood.

At the sight of the face he no longer saw when he peered into the mirror, the face he used to share with his beloved sister, Subaru stilled. His first impulse had been to call the stranger Hokuto, but a look into those green irises, a graze against a depth of desolation, regret and excruciating agony, Subaru could claim that the visitor was himself, with conviction. Hokuto would never be devoid of liveliness. Hokuto was dead.

For Kamui, the similitude had been too obvious, as though it was slammed to his eyes. Staring at a clone of himself was bizarre to a level that trespasses human comprehension. When the two barged up the stairs to one of the rooms, Kamui followed, filled by curiosity and dread.

Five Seals gathered at the doorway when Subaru the vampire laid Kamui on the bed inside, divesting the other male off his robe, peeling the garment off the skin around the wound carefully. He flinched when his twin jerked. "I'm sorry," he whispered as his nail extended. He stabbed the inside of his left wrist rather thoughtlessly (Yuzuriha closed her eyes and cringed), crimson fluid welling on his fingertip.

As an artist would to a brush and ink, Subaru painted a symbol on the canvas of Kamui's naked torso with his finger and blood, elaborate ancient runes running off at the edges that glowed iridescent viridian, brightening when the caster began to chant.

A bloodcurdling scream tore the still air, filled with pain to a point beyond recognition, as Subaru's palms hovered over the gaping hole. Violet eyes shot open, turning molten gold immediately as their owner thrashed about, legs kicking out, hands flailing. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Subaru would have said if he hadn't been occupied with the mouthy mantra.

It was over as soon as it started. The gaping wound disappeared, unblemished skin on its place, not even a scar remained. Taut limbs drooped, tense strings cut, harsh breathing slowing. Stillness shrouded them like a blanket for several seconds, together with the shadows of the unlighted room, before Kamui the vampire twitched, his hand reaching out blindly. "Subaru…?" his voice was hoarse.

Yuzuriha gasped again as Subaru the onmyouji's suspicion was confirmed. It wasn't as though he was ignorant of Yuuko's job.

"I'm here," Subaru clasped his twin's hand with his own, helping him when he tried to sit up. "Here," he brought his wrist, still dripping with crimson fluid, over to Kamui's lips. "Drink," his tone was one that accepted no repudiations.

Sorata frowned. Now that the species of their visitors was revealed, the monk didn't know whether he should release the breath he had been holding yet.

Kamui turned his head away from the proffered hand. "No," he refused, anyway.

"Kamui," Subaru's voice hardened as Kamui the Seal gasped from the doorway. The boy who shared his appearance also shared his name. Would anyone explain? He'd like to shout.

"Kamui," Subaru tried again as he literally held his injury in front of Kamui's mouth, frowning when the former was recuperating. "You're exhausted, you know it. You would have healed on your own if you weren't so depleted. Now, drink." Subaru's commanding tone sounded foreign to the Dragons of Heaven's ears.

Kamui didn't dare to open his lips. He only turned away even further, pressing his lips to his shoulder.

Subaru sighed. "Kamui," he reached out for his twin's chin and wedged it firmly between his thumb and index. "Please," he held up his wrist only to find that the tissues had been cured completely.

Kamui relaxed, while Subaru was at his wits end. "I will feed you," the latter spoke with such certainty.

There were numerous reactions from the spectators when Subaru kissed Kamui on the lips, coaxing, bordering on slightly forceful, as he pinned the other pureblood to the headboard. Arashi looked away politely, Sorata's eyes bulged, Yuzuriha squeaked and blushed, but the shade of red on her cheeks could not rival the one on Kamui the Seal's face. He was a tomato with hair, hands covering his mouth. 'God, god, god!' his groin was stirred by the voyeur, and he squashed the lust away from his mind, leering at Subaru the onmyouji, analysing the response on his face.

To be honest, Kamui was falling in love with Subaru. It started as mutual apprehension; they were the only ones who could fathom each other's pain, his was the only presence he could tolerate, the one he sought for. It developed to a crush, before burgeoning to an emotion Kamui was entirely unprepared for.

Kamui wasn't expecting much. He was aware that the Sakurazukamori was the only one who mattered to Subaru. Yet, when the older male kept him company, he couldn't extinguish the tiny flame of hope…

Subaru covered his face when Kamui's doppelganger, who started by shoving Subaru the vampire's chest, yielded, arms winding around the other's form, his legs wrapping Subaru's hips and locking behind the small of the latter's spine. The Dragon of Heaven had a vague notion that his Kamui was falling for him, and berated himself for ever leading the boy on. He supposed in other universes, one where he had never met Seishirou, it was possible for them to be lovers.

Kamui the vampire was shocked when Subaru thrust his tongue to his throat, purposely pricking it with his fangs. He struggled when the sweetness of Subaru's blood flooded his cavern, but he couldn't resist it. Subaru was a drug to him, an addiction. His twin's scent and flavour overwhelming his senses, Kamui sucked on Subaru's tongue and moaned.

Subaru's life essence welled in Kamui's mouth and trickled off the side of his lips, streaming down his face and neck, stark contrast of red against pale skin, falling to the sheets below and seeped in. As Kamui was distracted, Subaru fiddled with his tie, wrestling to get his neck exposed. His tongue could only have so much blood. It couldn't satisfy Kamui. With a final tug, he wrenched the material off the pale column of his flesh, placed his hand on both sides of Kamui's face and withdrew.

As expected, Kamui protested, his lips holding on to the muscles that was Subaru's tongue, both males flushed, eyes flashing gold and half-lidded. Subaru managed to separate them, though, and tilted his head back, pushing his neck to Kamui, who nuzzled the offering, lapping on his twin's skin before sinking his fangs.

Subaru whimpered, his face scrunching in pain and pleasure, his toes curling, fingers threading on Kamui's hair and clutching strands slightly. Feeding had this impact on the victim, particularly because they were twins and their souls were bonded, to some extent. As dizziness threatened to overcome him, he squelched the temptation to rub against the warmth of Kamui's body and concentrated on the spell he was planning to weave.

Once Subaru sensed that Kamui had consumed enough, the former protracted a nail surreptitiously behind his brother's artfully messy hair and pierced his wrist again. With the blood, he sketched a symbol above Kamui's shoulder blade.

Kamui's eyes widened when he felt energy thrumming against him, enveloping him in a blinding light. Gasping, his hands held on to Subaru, fingers embedded in the folds of his tattered shirt. "Subaru!"

"You need to hibernate," Subaru caressed his face, cupping it with his palm. "You haven't a slumber for years, darting from one dimension to another. You need the rest, that much is obvious," he spoke soothingly as one would to a child at the brink of throwing a tantrum the size of Tokyo.

Kamui latched on frantically, fighting against the spell to no avail. Subaru was the more capable one at magic. "But, Subaru-"

The emerald-eyed vampire silenced him with a kiss, tender and loving. "I won't leave you," Subaru whispered as his fingers eased Kamui's clenched fists off him, his large emerald eyes brimming with an unnamable emotion. "I will always stay by your side. Always."

Kamui eyed his twin for a moment as the light encompassed him, and the last thing anyone could see of him was a soft smile.

Above the bed stood a spherical structure, surrounded by a soft yellowish glow, supported by numerous tree vines structures appended to the walls and the ceiling. Inside was a shadow of a cocoon the size of a human being.

Subaru dragged himself to the orb and leaned on it. "You're the only one I have left," he stated, a myriad of baggage hanging on the thin thread: loneliness, longing, resolve, before he collapsed to the mattress underneath.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

Everyone tensed when Subaru stepped into the dining room, his hair mussed about his face, still dressed in yesterday's clothes. Well, not everyone. Yuzuriha twittered on about her friends at school before she noticed the silence, turned and meeped at the sight of the vampire.

Subaru smiled at his hosts. "Ohayou gozai masu," he bowed slightly, "I'm sorry for…" he gestured at the room above, at a loss for words.

"You mean you're sorry for keeling over because you were tired? Please," Sorata played along, pushing the green-eyed boy to a seat. Subaru plopped down gratefully. "I cook breakfast today," the monk paused before walking to the kitchen, "Can you…?"

"I can," Subaru supplied helpfully, aware of the awkwardness concerning his nature. After witnessing the debacle with his twin the previous day, Subaru didn't believe that his hosts hadn't concluded that he was a vampire. "It's not my diet, but I can. Like humans with junk food. It won't nourish me, just fill my stomach."

"Then you must try my sandwiches!" Sorata remarked jovially and retrieved a plate for his guest in record time. "It has tomatoes, cucumber, grilled fish with garlic-" he stopped midway, eyes darting around at the sunrays streaming into the room through the gaps between the window frames and curtains. "Shit, the sun-"

Subaru raised the bread to his mouth and bit it, making a show of chewing his food before swallowing visibly. "It's delicious," he smiled at Sorata, "Don't worry. Holy water, sun, garlic – they're all myths." The sunny expression drooped. "About the room…I'm afraid it has to stay like that for a week, at the very least. Knowing Kamui, he may wake sooner."

The onmyouji, who had been reading the papers, put it down on the wooden table and stared at his counterpart, still baffled by their similarities. "Subaru-san, I presume?"

The vampire nodded. "Is there any other way I can address you? I have no surname."

"Mine is Sumeragi," the Seal offered a hand, "Nice to meet you, Subaru-san."

If any of the Dragons of Heaven found the tête-à-tête bizarre, s/he didn't raise any voice.

"The pleasure is mine, Sumeragi-san," Subaru the vampire's hand felt like it belonged to just another human he passed by on the streets everyday, warm and soft, a texture he was familiar with, the human realised, that of a skin sheltered by years of donning gloves.

A millennium of questions threatened to burst from his lips. Why did you wear gloves? Were you marked by Seishirou too? Had you even met Seishirou? Were you and Kamui lovers? How could you forget Seishirou, then? Instead, the one voiced was frivolous, compared to the rest. Wasn't even worthy to be spoken. "You met Yuuko-san, I presume?" As if there was any other way.

Actually, there was. Merely unthinkable.

Subaru nodded again. "Kamui and I did. That was a long time ago."

Silence ensued. Subaru wasn't a master of absentminded conversations – that was more of Sorata's department. Hokuto's too.

It was Kamui the Seal who shattered the tranquility. "H-how are you related t-to K-ka-" he stammered, roses blossoming on his cheeks.

Subaru the vampire took pity on his brother's counterpart. "Kamui is my twin," he answered. At astonished looks, he added, "we're often very intimate."

Kamui and Subaru the Dragon of Heavens were surprised. "Twin?" the onmyouji leaned forward, interested. He couldn't envisage Kamui as his twin. A younger brother, conceivably. Kamui echoed the question in Subaru's mind and blushed again when two pairs of emerald irises glanced at him.

Subaru placed his unfinished sandwich on the plate. "We used to be a triplet." He turned and stared into the windows of his doppelganger's soul. "Hokuto died."

Suddenly, the Sumeragi didn't want to talk about this now. Not with others listening.

* * *

Subaru the vampire thanked Kamui the Seal for lending him his clothes. It really helped him, because his twin's copy was the only person with the same size. He smiled when the violet-eyed boy stuttered, "Y-you're w-welcome," before dashing to school.

"He's so shy," Subaru shook his head as his double approached the sofa he was seated on, "My twin is never that timid. He's always irate, astringent, or overprotective."

"Sorata will say he needs to get laid. Except perhaps, he has?" Subaru the onmyouji lowered himself onto the furniture and sat at the other end, regarding his younger self with a raised eyebrow.

"Kamui is very attached to me," Subaru didn't say that he meant 'too attached.' "It has been the two of us for decades."

The human hummed, twirling a cylinder of paper and tobacco between his fingers before slipping it to his lips and igniting the other end. "Cigarette?" he offered the vampire.

The older male declined. "I try not to be addicted to a substance that is not available in every dimension." The use of words implied that he had.

The two stayed in a companionable silence for a moment, before Subaru the pureblood turned to his copy. He started hesitantly. "I saw Seishirou-san."

Subaru complimented himself for not reacting to the name. At least, not visibly.

"I am acquainted with Seishirou-san too, from the place I was from," the vampire folded his legs and leaned on his knees. "Seishirou-san is a hunter."

Subaru released a puff of smoke. "Sakurazuka Seishirou is an assassin."

"I can tell," he replied, raking his hand through his hair, contemplative, "They're different. Sakurazuka-san's older." More lethal, he wanted to state, more impassive. But he didn't.

"Do you see…" the onmyouji gave a vague gesture, "often?"

The boyish Subaru shook his head. "Individuals with large spiritual powers do not have many copies. Otherwise, it will prove disastrous to the precarious balance between worlds. Yuuko-san is unique due to her occupation. I have only seen two Clow Reeds." His hair fell to his eyes and he tossed his head to dislodge the stubborn lock. "Sometimes, the copies possess no powers. I have seen…Subaru and Seishirou in a world without magic."

The Dragon of Heaven wanted to picture that. "Were they happy?"

There was no answer.

The human nearly laughed. Of course, it would never be that easy between them.

"This is the first time I get to speak to a counterpart of mine," he let the dialogue be steered. Those eyes were on him again, large but not youthful. "Would you mind a catharsis?"

"No," Subaru neglected to mention his appointments. He was dutiful, but it wasn't everyday he saw a version of himself.

"In Babylon…that is the world I was from," Subaru began, "Humans and supernatural…creatures have coexisted since the universe was born. There were lines, carefully drawn. Territories…mostly we ignored one another. Of course, there are those whose occupation was to hunt the 'beasts'."

The hunters, the onmyouji thought inwardly. Seishirou-san.

"My clan was one of the Noblest amongst pureblooded vampires," Subaru paused as his counterpart mused, 'More similarities.'

"What needs to be noted is…vampires pride themselves for being inhumane," the vampire shuddered, "Our society was one where power ruled supreme. My grandfather used to tell me…we're lions in human form."

"Father was powerful. He had my magical prowess, Kamui's brute strength and agility and Hokuto's wit and charm. The three of us were his heirs, the only purebloods in the clan. He had been training me to be less compassionate… Father was kind…he was just extremely strict…and when I reached my sixtieth…" The Sumeragi realised the vampire was trembling, teeth clacking against one another, and he reached out, placing a hand on his shoulder, snapping him off the past. The latter blinked at the Seal profusely before handing him a grateful smile.

"Father lost his patience," Subaru took deep breaths. "He locked me in a dungeon…forced me to murder…It-" he choked.

"You don't have to describe in such details," the onmyouji offered, "It's your story. Tell me whatever you wish to."

Subaru's smile widened before he started over. "Hokuto, Kamui and Yue Lan managed to sneak me out." At Sumeragi's puzzled stare, he explained, "Yue Lan is…a friend, to cut a long story short." (A/N: Yue Lan is an OC. Why is she mentioned here? I have several SeixSub stories involving her, but I'm not sure whether I should post them or not)

"So I fled…ran away from home with no aim. Wandered from town to town till Father calmed down, that was what Hokuto suggested. Years passed…I collapsed on a street one day, without money and reluctant to feed from strangers…it would have left obvious trails…and I was too much of a coward…anyways…" His hands fiddled with the hems of his sleeves, "Seishirou-san saved me."

"Little was known about vampires. We were a tight bunch who kept to one another, so he had no clue that I am one when he offered me a shelter."

"I didn't tell him anything, not even my name, especially since he let it slip that he was a hunter…and his mother, Setsuka-san, wanted him to capture a vampire so she could have eternal youth…again another misconception."

Subaru the Seal could envision a thousand and one ways how things had gone wrong, how a tragedy had been born. Had Setsuka-san discovered you were one and demanded your death so you ran? Had your Father located you and murdered Setsuka-san?

"It was the happiest year in my life." Subaru the vampire's eyes glazed over. "I knew I should have left as soon as I regained my health…but Seishirou-san was so gentle…so wonderful. I-I…" he didn't realise he was crying until the human wiped his tears away with a handkerchief. Subaru found the strength to continue. "I fell in love with him."

Then what? Did he reveal that it was a fabrication? A lie? That the person you loved didn't exist?

"T-then," Subaru wasn't about to follow his double's scenario, "Fei Wong Reed's army attacked numerous human civilizations."

The onmyouji was taken off guard. "Who?" he interrupted the narration.

"Fei Wong Reed…a relative of Clow Reed," Subaru the vampire apologised for the lack of background information. "Nearly as powerful too. He…has a Wish. A Wish Yuuko refused to grant. So he set out to fulfil it on his own…wrecking worlds in the process."

The human nodded in comprehension.

"Anyway…after that, men were in frenzy. They blamed the 'beasts', and annihilated them. Father perished," he mourned for a few seconds, before persisting, "Hokuto, Kamui and Yue Lan managed to save themselves and embarked on a journey to find me. Yue Lan…she…has a bond with me, one that enables her to trace me. They didn't take long."

The Sumeragi could sense that he was reaching the climax.

"The night they reached the town Seishirou-san and I resided…Fei Wong's army was assaulting the citizens. There were countless corpses, so much blood, I-" both of them could envisage the butchery, had witnessed it repeatedly. "Setsuka-san was murdered."

Crystalline tears gushed out of glassy gem eyes like blood would from a severe injury. Subaru was hurting, and he was allowed a release. Subaru the Seal comforted his alter ego, wrapping his arm around him gingerly. The latter didn't clutch at him like a lifeline, but the man felt the lips pressed against his neck curling to a smile, and that was sufficient.

"Hokuto was with Setsuka-san when the woman died," the vampire spoke again, "The reasons…I wasn't privy to. May be Setsuka-san thought Hokuto was me. May be Hokuto wanted to help Setsuka-san. May be…it was inevitable." He wasn't about to state, 'a coincidence' because there never was.

"What I was told…Seishirou-san saw Setsuka-san dying in Hokuto's arms and thought Hokuto was his mother's slaughterer."

Oh. OH.

"He screamed, an anguished, animalistic sound that drew me even when I was halfway across the town, searching for him frantically. By the time I arrived…Hokuto was already slumped across him, his hand piercing her, her heart still in his bloodied fingers."

Blood spreading on unsullied shikifuku, a man's hand sticking out of her back. Seishirou-san, smiling coldly.

Subaru fought the memory with all his might.

"I screamed, too. When he turned to me, he appeared shocked. Seishirou-san…must have thought Hokuto was I, thought I betrayed him. If he didn't, he must have thought I betrayed him when I bared my claws at him, my eyes flashing gold. I was so…so angry. It was the first time I ever was…" The vampire trembled again, hands hugging himself. "I fell in love with him, that year. But Hokuto had been with me longer, was as important. For a while, we shouted at each other, hurting with words…until he spoke, 'You lied to me.'…My heart stopped."

It was almost Subaru and Seishirou were reversed. In Babylon, it had been Subaru who withheld truths, who wasn't the person Seishirou thought he was. It had been Subaru who was older, who deceived and betrayed the hunter. (A/N: Karma for Seishirou!)

"One of Fei Wong's army was behind Seishirou-san before any of us could react, stabbing him with a sword. He fell…and I screamed again. Rampaged for the first time in my life, eliminating any soldier in sight. Kamui nearly restrained me…but Yue Lan…she promised to distract Kamui."

What? The Sumeragi couldn't connect the dots. Distract Kamui? Why?

"Seishirou-san was still breathing…but he was in a critical condition. I…I fed him my blood." He broke down. "I-I didn't want him to die…"

"Is Seishirou…?" the onmyouji couldn't grasp the notion.

The vampire shook his head. "I didn't give him enough. I don't want him to be. Seishirou-san has been caught somewhere in between humanity and vampirism. He aged slower…yet he didn't have to consume blood…and he couldn't tap on vampire magic." He sighed, "I don't think he could live with himself if he transformed to a species he hunted."

Another reversal. It was Subaru who left a mark on Seishirou, a reminder that he'd been in the latter's life.

"Kamui was royally pissed. He was convinced that Seishirou-san would kill me. He dragged me to the Dimensional Witch and Wished for the means to cross dimensions." That should be the end of his tale. But it wasn't, the Sumeragi could tell.

"You didn't Wish to flee him," Subaru the onmyouji voiced his observation, and his counterpart didn't refute. "Even though Seishirou-san will put you to death on sight?"

"Even then," the vampire confirmed. "I went along with Kamui, initially, because I hoped Seishirou-san would give up…and move on, live contentedly. When it was clear he won't…after decades…dimensions blurring to one…I changed my mind." He opened his hands and stared at his palms. "For so long…I feel empty. I feel life wasn't worth living. I wanted to be captured. I wanted to quit."

"But you can't." Subaru could understand his double's mind as his own. They were one, in essence, sharing the same soul. "Kamui."

"Kamui." The name was reiterated softly, agony, abhorrence and affection warring in the paradox of his voice. "Kamui needs me. He…fell in love with me, way, way before I fell in love with Seishirou-san. I can't leave him. He has no one left but me." Subaru had no one left but Kamui, either. Burying his face against the fabric of his pants, he was muffled. "I love him."

Subaru's cigarette was burnt out. He snubbed it on the ashtray and lit another, the tang of nicotine bittersweet on his taste buds. "Not the way he does," the Dragon of Heaven remarked.

So that was the difference. Subaru the vampire hadn't been shattered and blown adrift by Hokuto's death because he had an anchor.

Kamui.

His Kamui hadn't reached him too late, had wormed under Subaru's skin before he encountered Seishirou.

"I can't leave him," Subaru reiterated, a desperate attempt to convince himself rather than a rebuttal to his double's implicit proposition, "not before I ensure that he can be happy without me." He hoped the moment would arrive sooner than latter. Subaru had bared his claws at the hunter in Acid Tokyo, then, but he was aware that Kamui hadn't been freed. No, Kamui's heart had been captured by Seishirou-san's younger brother.

The stillness that had been the narration's curtain call was oppressive. Subaru didn't offer to share his tragedy. The vampire didn't inquire, either. When the onmyouji disentangled himself from the sympathetic embrace, there was no protests.

"Thank you," the man stated after he rose to his feet.

"No, thank you," Subaru the vampire shook his head, large eyes staring at his double, the wisdom swirling in the emerald pools belaying his age, "for listening without passing any judgment."

Sumeragi nodded and walked away.

(A/N: If the story sounds familiar…it's inspired from J.J. Blue's As Long as the Rain Keeps Falling)

* * *

Sorata sung as he cooked.

"_So if I capsize on your thighs' high tide, B5, you've sunk my battleship, please turn me on, I'm Mr Coffee with an automatic drip_—" (A/N: From Insaneidiot's All that Glitters – boyband!X, must check it out if you haven't!)

Arashi blushed, splotches of crimson blossoming on her face, while Yuzuriha choked. "P-please!" She hid her face with the plates she was setting, "There are underage people here!" the girl peeked at Subaru the vampire, who was arranging the cutleries.

The male mentioned stared back at the cheerful lady. "I'm sorry, you have not my sympathy," he smiled, not at all disturbed by the innuendoes, "I'm 118 years old."

Three pairs of eyes widened. "For real?" Sorata replied as he brought the pan to the dining hall, pouring sizzling stir-fries to a large bowl.

Subaru seemed thoughtful, tapping his chin with his fingers. "Well…I'm not sure…time flows differently across dimensions. But I definitely passed my 110th year benchmark."

Arashi hesitated. "Is it true, then? That vampires are-"

The boyish male interrupted, "No, vampires aren't immortal. We just age slower."

"Way slower then," Sorata commented, returning to the kitchen to retrieve the soup.

"Individuals with remarkable spiritual powers also have long lifespan," Arashi conceded, "Like the 12th Head of Sumeragi Clan," she turned to the monk for confirmation.

Sorata didn't want to be reminded of the incidence and smacked his face with his hand. Yuzuriha tilted her head. "Like one human year are seven for dogs?"

"Dogs?" Subaru appeared honestly perplexed.

The ball of energy in human form pointed at Inuki, who was slumped at her feet, tail wagging sluggishly. "Inuki is a spiritual dog," Yuzuriha blinked.

"So it's called a dog in this world," Subaru bent down and petted Inuki on the head, "Animals vary in various worlds. In some it is impossible to domesticate one." (A/N: I assume 'Babylon' has werewolves, not mere dogs)

Sorata opened his mouth, but his retort was lost in the earthquake, the ground beneath quaking abruptly.

Not bothering to shield themselves from objects who submitted to the attraction of gravity, the Seals rushed out instead, bringing their guest with them. "The building will not crumble," Sorata assured Subaru when the latter glanced at the room occupied by his twin concernedly.

"A kekkai is destroyed," Arashi observed, craning to search for the location.

Before the Dragons of Heaven were delivered a vision the instant Subaru Sumeragi erected a kekkai around Sunshine 60, Subaru the vampire had already shot through the air, riding the wind under his feet, Kamui's name under his breath. The violet-eyed sacrifice might not be his brother, but the connection between their souls alerted him whenever Kamui was in danger.

* * *

Belonging to a species superior to humanity, Subaru arrived at the pandemonium earlier than the Seals, unobstructed by the kekkai since he possessed the ability to cross worlds and a kekkai was but an alternate dimension. The sight of Kamui, straining against scraps of metals, bleeding from gashes all over his frail, slim form, wasn't a mere déjà vu. "The hunter's double," Subaru murmured under his breath, migraine pounding in his skull.

"Subaru!" Kamui shouted frantically as Subaru attempted, futilely, to release him, risking a brawl against another familiar figure with three leaf-like symbols on his forehead…Nataku was the name, if Subaru wasn't mistaken. The pureblood turned, a reflexive gesture, to realise that the human had been referring to his doppelganger. "Save Subaru!" Kamui cried, his eyes rooted to a place a distance away.

Subaru followed his line of sight to discover the devil cornering a bloodied figure, slumped face down on the floor, and abusing him as though it was a rag doll.

The Dimension traveler mulled over the situation. He shouldn't be here, not really. He mustn't interfere with the Fates of other worlds.

Fear contorted Kamui's face, lavender puppy eyes begging him. "P-please," he choked.

Hell. Subaru thanked the Gods his twin was too prideful to plead and utilise his exquisite eyes. Otherwise there was no way Subaru could refute.

* * *

The tip of a leather shoe forced the 13th Head of Sumeragi Clan to look into his enemy's eyes, wincing when the ghost of a man superposed the teenager in his view. Fingers clasping strands of his hair, keeping his head in place, Subaru shivered as he asked, voice weak. "Why do you and Seishirou-san…"

"Look so much alike?" Fuuma finished the onmyouji's trail of thought, lips curling leftward to a smirk as he raised a hand, flexing and tensing his fingers, poising to stab his victim. "You…wish it to be so, that's why!" (A/N: Dialogue from X/1999 volume 12, chapter 114)

Subaru watched, helpless against the approaching appendages intentioned to gouging his eyes. That wasn't accurate; he was resigned to the assault. Subaru had Wished for his right eye to be blinded, occasionally.

Before the act could be committed, someone barreled to the space between the Angel and the Seal, separating them. Hairs tickled Subaru's face and slipped into his mouth before the impact sent him flying to the railing behind him, the back of his head hitting the metal. He vaguely heard Kamui screaming his name before the concussion robed him of his consciousness.

* * *

"SUBARU!" Kamui broke free off his bindings as Fuuma hit Subaru the vampire, who flung himself to his double's front, on the right side of his face, causing the two to collide against the railing a few feet away. Subaru the Seal fainted, the kekkai dissolving, while the younger-looking one clutched his face, blood dripping off his hand. His visible left eye twitched in pain, but he was nowhere near dying.

"Well, we see each other again," Fuuma appeared amused, "I'd love to keep you company, but in light of the oncoming Dragons of Heaven…"

"Wait," Subaru spoke calmly, his hand sliding down to his side as Fuuma began to retreat. The vampire's right eye was a mess, there was a hole where one could peek at his brain through it, oozing with crimson liquid, but his cells were regenerating quickly. Fuuma watched the process with a morbid curiosity. "I'm sorry," the vampire continued. His knowledge of his counterpart's tormentor was little, but… "I'm sorry I'm always with him. I'm sorry I'm a hindrance to your goal," Subaru had wanted to say those words to Fuuma the hunter. A substitute was better than none. Besides, the circumstances surrounding the quartet seemed similar.

They were, indeed, bounded souls.

The Angel's burnt sienna eyes widened. A millisecond later, his surprise disintegrated. "It's not your fault," it was replaced by a wistful expression. "Kamui chooses to not realise his Wish."

Subaru averted his gaze. "I'm still sorry," he conceded. Kamui's head was harder than a quart.

"Glad to find that you're very insightful, Subaru-san," Kamui the Dragon of Earth waved at him, "My opinion of you changed." He flashed the vampire a grin.

"I wish you happiness," Subaru whispered, his t-shirt fluttering in the wind, as Kamui reached him. Placing his hands on the boyish male's shoulder, the violet-eyed teenager snapped him off his daze. "Subaru!"

The vampire smiled. By then his wound had mostly healed, the edges of his irises forming. "I'm okay," Subaru said as Kamui peered into his injured eye, cringing at the goriness. After his pupil had returned, Subaru dared to blink, his lid encountering friction against the flawless curvature of his cornea, and rubbed the blood off his face. "Vampires, especially pureblooded ones like I am, have incredible recuperative abilities. Rather than worrying about me," he gestured at the prone figure that resembled himself, "We should bring Sumeragi-san to the hospital, don't you think?"

Kamui turned to the older man, throwing his arm over his own shoulder, and tried to lift the onmyouji up. Subaru hurried to his double's other side. Together, they jumped across rooftops, eyes darting to find the nearest hospital.

"Thank you," Kamui spoke suddenly, gazing at the vampire sincerely as they cut through the sky. "I-I can't imagine-"

"Shush. Don't linger on those thoughts. Your fears didn't come to pass," Subaru comforted his twin's look-alike the best he could, with a deadweight bearing down on his shoulders, "You're welcome."

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2

Sumeragi Subaru got away with bruises, cuts and fragmented bones, but nothing major. He only had to stay in the hospital for a few days.

Sorata, Arashi, Yuzuriha and his double visited on the third day, which was just as well, considering he was so out of it on the second, drugs coursing his system. Kamui stayed with him as soon as he was released from the operation room, holding his hand even when he slept.

"I'm sorry to trouble you like this," Subaru spoke to the quartet.

"There's nothing to apologise for," Sorata remarked straight away, guilt invading his expression, "It's us who should be apologising…"

Arashi and Yuzuriha nodded fervently. The girl stepped out and bowed. "I'm sorry," sadness looked misplaced on her, "I couldn't get to Ikebukuro at that time, and I couldn't do anything…I'm really sorry!"

"There's no need to apologise to me," Subaru was ill at ease with apologies. She reminded him of Hokuto too, sometimes.

"But if I don't, I'll go on feeling depressed," Yuzuriha closed her eyes, and when she reopened them, there was fiery determination there, "I like everyone…Kamui-san, Sorata-san, Arashi-san, Aoki-san, Karen-san…and of course you, Subaru-san." (A/N: Dialogue from X/1999 vol12, chapter 119)

Inuki, inseparable from her, climbed to his bed, his head close to his bandaged elbow, eyes staring at the injured man.

"I'm not the kind of person worthy of your affection," Subaru closed his own eyes, "I make a lot of people worry about me…but in the end all I can think about is myself." Images flashed before his lids. Oba-chan…Seishirou-san…Kamui…

"That's not true!" Yuzuriha argued, upset, "You are a kind person! So please," she bent forward, one hand on the bed, leaning on it, and shoved a pinky under his nose, "Promise me! Don't take it all upon yourself. If anything happens, call me and Inuki!"

Subaru looked at the appendage, unsure, before Sorata added, "Us, too." His gaze was as heartfelt, as resolute, "Subaru-san."

The onmyouji surrendered. He smiled and hooked his pinky around the girl's.

The sun rose on her face. "Thank you!" She was herself, the world was righted.

Inuki pushed his snout against Subaru's hand and the man caressed the spirit's dog.

"Such resemblance!" Yuzuriha opinionated out of the blue, "You and Kamui-san really resemble each other."

Subaru's eyes widened. Kamui tilted his head, puzzled.

Sorata arched an eyebrow. "They're twins in another world," he supplied, gesturing at the vampire.

"It's not just the face," Yuzuriha protested and attempted to explain herself, "Just, you know…" She left it at that, "I'm happy. In Tokyo, I've met a lot of people who petted Inuki for me. That's why I want to be friends with everyone…" her voice softened by a decibel, "and with Kusanagi-san too…"

Subaru blinked. "Huh?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing!" She raised her hands in defense and rummaged through her bag to retrieve a palm-sized bunny, ribbon tied around its neck. "This is a get-well gift from me," Yuzuriha placed it on the nightstand beside the hospital bed and patted it on the head smilingly, "Because you'd get lonely all by yourself."

"Thank you," Subaru replied, keeping his sorrow out of his voice. Her remark reminded him of Seishirou…

Behind her, Subaru the vampire tugged the back of Sorata's shirt subtly to alert his attention, sending him a look.

The monk got the hint. "While we're in the topic of farewell gifts…We bought you flowers, Subaru-san," Sorata made a show of looking around, "Is there a vase somewhere?"

"There's one in the ward," Kamui answered.

"Nee-chan!" Sorata turned to Arashi cheerfully, "Can you go with Kamui and arrange the flowers?"

The miko searched him carefully. "…Yes," she finally answered and led the violet-eyed teenager out.

"Yuzuriha!" Sorata grinned, "Don't you feel hungry? It's noon! We should buy some food for Nee-chan and Kamui too! There's a cafeteria downstairs…" He didn't have to be as tactful with Yuzuriha…

The doubles were left by themselves, staring at near reflections of one another. Reminding himself that he didn't have an eternity, the shorter one of the two approached the mattress.

"I'm sorry," Subaru the vampire drooped, "I've thwarted the fulfillment of your Wish. I know," his own hand flew to cover his right eye, "Seishirou-san the hunter…traded his right eye for a method to cross dimensions…he lost it to pursue me…i-if I weren't a vampire…if I can gouge my eye and not have it regenerated…I-I will. B-but," his shoulders were bent further, "K-Kamui pleaded…and I couldn't say no…"

A touch on the back of his hand stopped him. Green eyes traveled the length of an arm before meeting another pair that nearly mirrored them reluctantly.

"I should thank you," the onmyouji had a small smile on his face, "If you didn't interfere, Kamui would have blamed himself severely. He wouldn't take my being blinded well when he was in the vicinity. He would think it was his fault for being unable to prevent it. So, thank you," the man sighed, "You have, indeed, denied me my Wish. But since it is a self-destructive one…it may be for the better…"

"You care about him," his alter ego echoed the question he fired him a few days previous.

"Not at much as you love yours," the patient sighed, "between him and Seishirou-san, I-"

"Don't," Subaru the vampire interrupted firmly with an air of finality.

They remained in silence until the rest returned.

* * *

The day Subaru was discharged from hospital, Kamui the vampire woke.

The Seals were in for a surprise when they turned the doorknob to the entrance of Imonoyama Mansion. Sorata, who was leading, blinked when a sharp, blade-like nail was held to his neck.

"You look like someone of the Tower's," his attacker growled from under his chin, golden eyes flashing, "Where is Subaru?"

"Kamui!" the green-eyed not-teenager dropped the bouquet of flowers he was holding and stepped into the porch, chiding his sibling, "Drop it! Sorata doesn't mean you harm."

Amber dimmed to indigo and a mess of curly hair, lean muscles and skinny limbs barreled into Subaru's arms, nuzzling his neck. "Subaru," the reverberation shuddered with such reverence, "I-I thought…" the hands that enveloped him tightened.

"I told you," Subaru returned the hug, fingers slipping through fine tresses; "I won't leave you."

Yuzuriha crept surreptitiously inside and flicked the switch on, gasping when her eyes landed on the wreckage that was their living room, furniture flipped upside down. "W-what-"

"Kamui," Subaru stated disapprovingly, brows creasing.

The male addressed cringed. "I was worried!" he defended himself, "The moment I stepped a foot on the soil of this world I was accosted! I'm sorry for assuming the worst!"

His brother softened. He never could shun Kamui. Well, there was a single act he would not forgive Kamui for, and he hoped fervently it would never come to pass.

"Come on," Kamui the vampire seemed a whole lot more energetic, now that he'd awakened from his slumber. His fingers curled around Subaru's wrist in a death grip. "Let's retrieve our clothes and move on to the next world."

"So soon?" Sorata stated immediately and rushed to block the amethyst-eyed vampire from getting back up the stairs. "You just opened your eyes! You should stay a while, go sightseeing…oh, I can bring you around all the good restaurants! And-"

The feisty pureblood vampire growled to interrupt the monk's continuous chatter. "We have no time!" Kamui shouted, "We're being chased by a maniac who'll kill us on sight! Not to mention that there're psychos who like to torture us in this world!" his left eye twitched. '_And that hunter's double is here! Who knows what he'll do to Subaru? Who knows…'_ He shook his head mentally. '_I won't let Subaru be lured by that man! I won't let Subaru leave me!'_

"Then, just stay for a farewell party," Sorata spoke solemnly and laid his hand on Kamui the vampire's shoulder, despite the fact that the monk was very nearly murdered by the same person merely moments ago. The Seal stared straight into Kamui's eyes. "Please? You can leave after tonight."

Unnerved by such an intense, honest look, Kamui turned away, only to meet his twin's large green eyes. "Kamui," Subaru approached the other vampire, his gaze beseeching, "please?"

Despite everything that had come to pass, Kamui was never good at denying Subaru anything he wanted. The amethyst-eyed vampire sighed, "Only tonight."

Amidst Sorata's listing down his plan for a wild party loudly and boisterously, and Yuzuriha's cheer, Subaru stepped closer to the only sibling he had left, and enveloped him in his arms. "Thank you," he breathed, his lips brushing against Kamui's earlobe.

The amethyst-eyed male nuzzled his twin's neck and held him tight, as though he was never going to let go.

But he knew he had to.

* * *

The party went on till the night was late. Sorata insisted on bringing alcohol into the occasion. The gang was only barely spared from spilling their hearts' contents and performing lewd moves in the game of truth and dare due to Kamui the vampire's threatening glare when Sorata dared Kamui the Seal to French kiss Subaru the vampire. The former was still blushing to the roots of his hair, while Kamui the vampire nearly felt silly for feeling jealous because of his own counterpart.

Subaru was glad that his sibling somehow managed to enjoy himself, though.

Sumeragi sat outside the circle, twirling the glass of juice in his hands. Sorata had been very strict about not giving him alcohol or allowing him to smoke because he just got out of the hospital. The joyous mood didn't seem to infect the onmyouji.

When the man put his glass and rose to his feet, Subaru peered at Kamui to make sure that he was distracted, before going up to follow the Sumeragi.

Subaru caught up to the Dragon of Heaven before he was climbing up the stairs. "Sumeragi-san."

The onmyouji looked down at his doppelganger.

"Thank you," the younger looking male smiled. "For listening to me." _For understanding._

"Me too," the Seal returned to the foot of the stairs. "It has been a valuable experience, too. No to mention…" he gestured at his eye and gave a wan smile.

The edges of Subaru's smile receded as well, before he stepped so close to the human who was sharing his soul. The vampire pressed an object to his counterpart's hand, glass, edges and the leather of his glove digging to the human's skin.

"Subaru-san, w-what-" after a couple of weeks, the thirteenth head of Sumeragi Clan was still not used to addressing his doppelganger with his own name.

"Administer it before death," his companion replied huskily, his voice barely louder than a whisper. "Together with your blood, because he is going to be your responsibility. He can only drink from you, thus he will die once you do."

Subaru the onmyouji looked down at his palm. There was a bottle, crystal, its surface decorated by intricate vines of a tree. Inside was a volume of liquid, crimson and equally fascinating as its container. He stared at it before the identity of the fluid dawned on him.

It was Subaru the pureblood vampire's blood.

Two pairs of resembling emerald irises met, one in surprise, the other, larger, younger one solemn. "W-why-" the human's throat was dry.

"Our fates are entwined," the not-teenager spoke, "I needed it. You may."

"Subaru!" His twin's voice rang through the air, "It's over midnight! We'll have to get going soon!" The statement was followed by a chorus of groans from Yuzuriha and Sorata.

"Coming!" the vampire hollered before turning away from the man. "I wish you happiness," Subaru murmured, his face cast in shadows, before exiting his double's life forever soon.

But the pureblooded vampire too, left the man a mark, a reminder than he'd been here.

The Sumeragi would not, could not, forget that.

La Fin

A/N: I swear I planned a sequel for this. But real life has been too much for me. Look how long I needed to update this. Anyways, Sumeragi Subaru having a pureblooded vampire's blood alone can give away your imaginative minds my intention, right? Need I give a challenge to whoever can write a sequel to this using the sentence below?

Sakurazuka Seishirou stared at his claws. "Subaru-kun," he inhaled sharply, "What have you turned me to?"

XP

Bye bye!


End file.
